You'd think that post 9-11 security spending increases would
have provided a boom for companies that can protect U.S. firms
from intrusions, viruses and hacker attacks. And they have. But
according to one industry pro, Quebec suppliers need not apply.

"Americans talk about globalization, yet many are reluctant
to outsource computer security to foreign companies," said
Martin Dion, vice-president (technology and professional services)
at Boisbriand-based Above Security. "Even though we are
right next door and are part of NAFTA, when it comes to security
they consider Canada foreign."

So while most Canadian high tech firms look to the U.S. for
growth, Dion has been forced to do without. Instead, during the
past year he has been increasingly expanding operations in the
Caribbean. He got the idea, while handling business there for
one of his Canadian customers. During his free time he decided
to make a few sales calls, and surprisingly found local firms
open to doing business with foreigners.

"There are so many countries and islands in the Caribbean
that are used to doing business with each other, that it is not
a big step for them to deal with a Canadian firm," Dion
said.

Caribbean bookings have been going so well that they now comprise
30 per cent of Above Security's revenues. The company plans to
open a 10 man facility in Trinidad early next year, a big step
for Dion.

But he's used to pressure. Dion has been a computer nut since
his teens. During the early 1990s he was one of the few Quebecers
with expertise in helping Novell operating system users who were
increasingly migrating to Windows NT. He was in his first year
at CEGEP when a head-hunter called at the computer store he was
working at to offer him a full-time job.

"I wasn't sure whether to take it," Dion said. "I
was young and wanted to finish school. But they were offering
me $45,000 a year, and when you're just 17 years old that's a
lot of money." Dion's interests quickly expanded and soon
he began handling his customers' computer security needs.

In 1999, he talked his father Marcel, an accountant, into
backing him in the startup of Above Security. Today the pair
own just a bit more than half the company with the balance held
by a group of venture capitalists. Marcel acts as president and
Martin handles to the technology side.

Dion estimates that North American companies will spend more
than $7 billion on computer security this year, with about $500
million of that here in Canada.

"With the recent hacker attacks we've heard about in
the media and the Blaster and other viruses, companies are being
increasingly concerned about computer security," Dion said.
"Information is the most valuable asset in today's corporation.
And if it is lost, damaged or stolen the cost can be incalculable."

Above Security derives about half of its projected $3.6 million
in sales from consulting services, and the balance from information
security monitoring, which is done remotely from the company's
Boisbriand offices.

The consulting services include a vulnerability and risk assessment,
governance review as well as project management, security policies
and procedures development and staff training. Managed security
monitoring is handled by Above Security staff who spot network
intrusions and vulnerabilities online, and provide what Dion
calls a computer version of a SWAT team, which detects and solves
problems at an early stage.

According to Serge Meilleur, an industry veteran, venture
capitalist and one of the company's shareholders for the past
two years, Above Security has a bright future ahead.

"They are extremely competent individuals," said
Meilleur, one of the founders of DMR Group, who sold his interest
in 1985. "Their products are highly avant-garde and reaction
has been extremely positive." Above Security currently has
about 140 customers in its roster, including major players such
as Loto-Québec, government departments and financial institutions.

But according to one observer, Quebec companies are still
not taking computer security as seriously as they should. "(It's)
not perceived as a big problem here," said Alain Bealieu,
an assistant editor at Direction Informatique adding that one
big advantage that Dion had was an open field. "I don't
know of any direct competitors here in Quebec."

MArtin Dion agreed, adding that his biggest competition comes
from enterprise software providers such as CGI, which offer security
features as an add-on to existing services.

But according to one customer, a security professional working
for a major financial services institution who asked not to be
identified, Above Security's products stand out. "I particularly
like the way they integrate both intrusion and vulnerability
detection services," said the professional. "They are
also flexible and very easy to deal with."

As for the immediate future, Dion will have to endure thankless
travel to the Caribbean, during coming months to oversee the
company's expansion, a task he doesn't seem to mind.

"Its not too bad down there," he said with a smile.
"I don't know if you know, but the weather is nice and people
are friendly. I'm sure I can handle it."

Photo caption: Martin Dion is vice-president and co-founder
of Above Security, which provides security consulting and computer
monitoring services for banks, Loto-Quebec, and other multinationals
from their Boisbriand offices.

Sidebar: Getting Ahead

o Marcel Dion got his start in the computer security industry
at 17, when a headhunter lured him from CEGEP to a $45,000 a
year job, handling Novel to Microsoft NT platform migration.
o As part of his duties, Dion began learning to set up firewalls
and other basic security protection, later moving on to system
monitoring and intrusion detection.
o In 1999 Dion got his father Marcel, an accountant, now the
company's president to help him start Above Security with the
help of some private venture capital investors.
o Although computer security spending in the U.S. is growing
buy leaps and bounds many companies will only deal with American
suppliers, so Above Security has been focusing on the Caribbean
market for its recent expansion.